Why correct movement in your horse is so important

'Correct movement' is something that I talk about a lot, it's really important for our horses welfare, and to help prevent future injury and breakdown, that we learn what 'correct' movement is, how to develop correct movement, and the specific reasons we should focus on this with our horses. 

As an Equine Physiotherapist and Rehabilitation Specialist, with over 10 years experience of working exclusively with horses, one of the big pieces that I teach in my work is around horse movement. Horses that are weak, moving in a crooked pattern, in poor posture, not being exercised in an effective frame, all of these scenarios are horses that can become injured within exercise. 

So correcting horses movement, so that they are working as symmetrically as possible in limbs and body, developing a good posture in exercise that engages all parts of the horses body, in particular the back and core, training your horse to be light in the forehand, and developing strength in the horses body so that they can actually carry a rider, these are all foundational, important parts of our training with our horses. 

POSTURE: if your horse is hollow in his back, the bones along the spine come close together and can touch, which is painful for the horse (kissing spine) - this is the most important reason to work on correcting your horses posture. 

CROOKEDNESS: if your horse looks to the outside on the lunge (for example), his weight is by default falling onto the inside forelimb, which results in uneven movement, uneven forces, compensation through the body, tensing in the neck and back, all within your exercise session - not helpful for even development of the horses body and movement. And again can be creating a back issue. 

STRENGTH: if your horse is weak, and hasn't been systematically strengthened, how do you know if he is actually strong enough to carry a rider? As a human 'weight lifter' we wouldn't go straight to lifting the maximum weight from nothing...we would condition our body first, over a period of weeks/months, it's the same with our horses. 

Why do I talk about all of this so much? I SPEAK FOR THE HORSES. Horse welfare...I spend a lot of time with injured horses, horses in pain, horses starting to develop pain, horses that have had surgery. And I try to unravel the scenarios to work out what happened. Tendons and ligaments don't just 'give' on one day. Back pain doesn't just happen on one day. Injuries in horses tend to develop over time, a long downward slope. (Not talking about accidents here). 

What can we do to help our horses? Everything I talk about regularly! Learn how to assess your horses posture and crookedness pattern. Make alterations to your exercise plan so that your horse is doing core work, you are actively working on their symmetry instead of just hoping it will get better on its' own (it won't!), and work consciously on developing a good working posture so that your horse can strengthen in the core and back. 

HOW I CAN HELP YOU...

This is important to learn about with our horses...every horse owner needs to learn more about their horses movement, to help prevent injury. I can help you in a number of ways.

FREE GUIDE: feel free to download my new guide here which details 3 ways that you can help your horse straight away...Improve Your Horses Movement

ONLINE COURSES: have a look at the courses page here on my site, you can get instant access to training on Core Exercises, In Hand Work, or the Developing Correct Movement course. Click here for more details: Online Courses

CONTACT ME: if you would like to ask any questions, you can drop me an email through the Contact page, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for the email box: Contact